Legal advice
Getting the right care and support for your child may feel like a constant battle and that you’re always engaging with medical professionals and clinicians. In the early days, when you first find out about the condition, it’s understandable if the situation feels overwhelming and especially so if you feel that something may have gone wrong during your medical care.
It’s also important to get the right care and support for your child in place early on and plan ahead, as family circumstances will change over a lifetime.
This is why considering legal advice is an important part of the journey as a family when living with cerebral palsy. You may have had a poor birthing experience and therefore wonder if you might have a negligence claim, or need to challenge a decision in regards to your child’s education, health and care plan. Or you may wish to plan for the future by setting up a trust for your child, or have a need for support in managing a family breakdown.
Who can help?
Although we are not in a position to recommend a specific firm, the following ones have supported The Bobath Centre for a number of years and are recognised for their expertise in Disability and Family law and are widespread throughout the UK. The solicitors delivering this service are members of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers or the patient safety charity, Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA).
You might also wish to consider other firms practising in this area which are listed at The Law Society.
- Clinical negligence
- Legal Aid
- Challenging a local authority decision
- Needs Assessments & Education, Health and Care Plans
- Disability discrimination in education
- Family breakdown
- Setting up a trust for your child
- Will writing
You may want to look at the Disability Law Service.
And don’t forget that we are here to support you too, in welcome sessions, or appointments or just as a friendly voice on the phone.
When choosing a firm it’s important to consider where they are based, their experience and expertise and make sure that they are accredited by one of the three key medical negligence panels, APIL, AvMA or the Law Society. But, it’s also important to make sure that you have a good relationship with them. So, a good rapport is helpful, as well as confidence in how they will interact with you and your case. Knowing that you get a timely response to emails or phone calls is reassuring as well as using straightforward language when explaining options to you – no legal jargon if it isn’t needed.
